Morning at Reikosha Academy usually began with the sound of training bells and the distant echo of sparring matches. Students filled the courtyard, some practicing energy control while others ran endurance drills around the outer grounds.
But today, the atmosphere felt different.
The instructors were watching more closely than usual.
Kairo stretched his arms while standing with Yura, Kimimaru, and Tyouro near the practice arena.
"You guys feel it again?" Kairo asked.
Tyouro groaned. "If you say that one more time I'm gonna start feeling it too."
Kimimaru crossed his arms. "He's not wrong."
Yura didn't say anything.
Her eyes were focused toward the academy entrance.
Kairo followed her gaze.
At first, nothing looked strange. A few students walked across the courtyard. Some instructors were speaking near the gate.
Then a figure appeared.
A boy.
He walked through the entrance slowly, like someone who didn't belong there but didn't care either.
His clothes looked worn from travel. Dust clung to his sleeves and boots.
Yet his posture was calm.
Too calm.
"Is that a new student?" Tyouro asked.
Kimimaru shook his head slightly.
"No uniform."
The boy continued walking deeper into the courtyard.
Several students noticed him now. Some whispered quietly, confused about why a stranger had entered the academy grounds without being stopped.
But the boy ignored them all.
His eyes moved carefully across the area.
Watching.
Studying.
Kairo felt a strange chill run down his spine.
"Something's wrong," he murmured.
Yura nodded.
The boy finally stopped walking.
Right in the center of the courtyard.
Students gathered around him at a distance, curious but cautious.
One older academy student stepped forward.
"Hey," the student said. "Visitors aren't allowed here without permission."
The boy looked at him.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then the boy spoke.
His voice was quiet.
"Can you fight?"
The student blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"I want to see your power."
The student frowned. "This isn't some public arena."
He stepped closer.
"Leave before the instructors—"
The boy raised his hand.
Energy flickered across his fingers.
The courtyard air shifted instantly.
Students stepped back in surprise.
Kairo's eyes widened.
"That energy…"
Kimimaru whispered the word before anyone else could.
"Replication."
The older student reacted quickly, forming a Reikou energy shield around his arm.
"Alright," he said cautiously. "You want to test strength? Fine."
Energy burst from his palm.
A sharp energy blast shot toward the boy.
The attack struck him directly
But something strange happened.
The boy didn't dodge.
He simply watched.
The energy explosion faded.
When the smoke cleared, he was still standing there.
Unharmed.
Students gasped.
Then the boy lifted his hand.
A small energy sphere formed in his palm.
The exact same attack.
The same Reikou pattern.
The same structure.
He had copied it perfectly.
Before the other student could react
The energy blast fired back.
BOOM.
The impact threw the student across the courtyard ground.
Silence fell instantly.
Everyone stared in shock.
The boy lowered his hand slowly.
"…Weak," he said quietly.
A ripple of anger moved through the crowd.
Kairo clenched his fist.
Tyouro stepped forward slightly. "Okay, that guy's asking for it."
But before anyone else could move
A calm voice cut through the courtyard.
"That's enough."
Professor Takahano walked into the open space.
The crowd parted immediately.
The boy turned his head toward him.
For the first time since arriving…
His expression changed slightly.
Interest.
Takahano stopped several meters away from him.
"You're the one from Kurohane Village," the professor said calmly.
The boy didn't deny it.
"What's your name?" Takahano asked.
A brief silence followed.
Then the boy answered.
"…Goro."
Students whispered among themselves.
Takahano nodded once.
"Goro," he repeated. "Why did you come here?"
Goro looked around the courtyard.
At the students.
At the energy training marks across the ground.
Then back at Takahano.
"I'm looking for someone strong."
The answer was simple.
Honest.
But something about it felt unsettling.
Takahano studied him carefully.
"You attacked a village to test their strength."
"They attacked first," Goro replied calmly. "After I asked them to fight."
Kairo's jaw tightened.
"That's the same thing," he muttered.
Yura watched Goro silently.
Her instincts were screaming that something about him was wrong.
Not just his ability.
Something deeper.
Takahano's voice remained calm.
"This is an academy," he said. "Not a battlefield."
Goro tilted his head slightly.
"But you train warriors."
The words hung in the air.
For the first time, a faint crack appeared in Takahano's calm demeanor.
Goro continued.
"If strong people are here… then someone should fight me."
Silence.
The courtyard felt heavier with each passing second.
Then Goro said something unexpected.
His voice was quiet.
Almost uncertain.
"…I just want to see if someone stronger exists."
No anger.
No arrogance.
Just a strange, empty curiosity.
Kairo stepped forward slightly.
Kimimaru immediately grabbed his arm.
"Don't," he whispered.
Kairo looked at him.
"But—"
Kimimaru's voice stayed firm.
"This isn't our fight."
Takahano finally spoke again.
"You're searching for strength," he said to Goro.
Goro nodded once.
The professor's eyes sharpened.
"Then you've come to the wrong place."
For the first time
Goro smiled faintly.
"Have I?"
A pulse of energy spread quietly across the courtyard.
Not an attack.
Just pressure.
Students felt it instantly.
Kairo's heart started beating faster.
Something big had just begun.
And no one realized yet…
That this quiet stranger would soon become the first true enemy they faced.